Full name David Paul Hughes 1967–1991 Lancashire 1971–1972 MCC Bowling style Left-arm orthodox spin | Batting style Right-hand 1975/76–1976/77 Tasmania 447 458 | |
Born 13 May 1947 (age 69) ( 1947-05-13 ) Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England | ||
David Paul Hughes (born 13 May 1947) is an English former cricketer. David Hughes was a stalwart of the Lancashire side for more than two decades, making 10,419 first-class runs. He batted right-handed and took 655 wickets with his left-arm spin.
Hughes was born in Newton-le-Willows, St Helens, Lancashire. Making his debut in 1967, he was capped in 1970. During the 1971 Gillette Cup semi-final against Gloucestershire on 28 July 1971, Hughes walked out to bat with the time approaching a quarter to nine in the evening and 25 runs still needed from the five remaining overs. There was a suggestion that the umpires would have to abandon play for the day and finish the game the following morning, but, when Hughes queried the light, he was told by umpire Arthur Jepson, "You can see the Moon. How far do you want to see?". Hughes proceeded to hit 24 off a single over and set up a Lancashire win.
Hughes played for D. H. Robins' XI in South Africa in 1971/72 and for Tasmania in 1975/76 and 1976/77, and accompanied Lancashire on three overseas tours in the mid-1980s, but otherwise stayed at home; of his 447 first-class matches, only ten were not played on British soil. He was captain of Lancashire between 1987 and his retirement in 1991, and in the first of these years Lancashire finished second in the County Championship; in 1988 Hughes was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year. He was given two benefit seasons, in 1981 and 1992, which raised a total of £145,000.